I do this on my personal blog a lot (okay, well…did…sorry, mom!!) so I thought I would carry it over to here.  Maybe let you get to know me a little bit better 🙂  What is it, you ask?  Basically, it’s a collection of ten things that I’ll post about.  It can be pictures, it can be stories, it can be tips, a whole mishmash of things!

1.  I’ll start off the first one with a general HELLO RHODE ISLAND!!!  We love love love it here so far.   We are right in the Edgewood section of Cranston and adore our neighborhood and area.  Within the first week we met a whole bunch of neighbors on the circle, received a loaf of banana bread, got our neighborhood map with everyone’s names and had already been informed of the yearly Halloween parade for the kids to participate in.  This is a WORLD of difference from what we were used to.  Not to mention that we not only have a driveway but we also have grass!  To most people that is a given.  But after four years of Center City Philadelphia where we had to find street parking for two cars and our “yard” consisted of cement and cinderblock this is just about heaven. 🙂

2.  I am on the preschool hunt for Nolan.  We visited one center already and are open to more suggestions, preferably in the Cranston area.  RI is small but I don’t want to truck all over town since he’s only probably going to be doing half days.  Ideas, any RI readers?

3.  I dare you not to smile! (Fine, I’m biased because she’s my kid.  But seriously, can you see this and NOT smile?)
Layne 6 months 3

4.  I’ll be participating in the Whole Foods Waterman store’s Block Party this Sunday, July 19th from 12-3.  Come out and visit me!!  This is the first time I’m doing anything like this so I’d sure love people to talk to 🙂   And if you’re a reader I don’t yet know, stop by and introduce yourself!

5.  I am so excited – there is a product out called a lay-flat album that I cannot WAIT to show to you guys!  They are just gorgeous and I am so excited to add them to my offerings.  Once I can have a free hour to design and order one I’ll take some pictures and show you.

6.  Tip of the week (day? hour?) Do you know that the best way to display pictures on your wall is to go BIG?  While most people think an 8×10 is a big photo, try hanging an 8×10 on an empty wall, then step back and see how teeny it ends up looking.  If you’re going to stick with 8x10s because you fear any bigger is too big (promise, you it’s really really not!!) then do a grouping of them together.  Put together four or six or even ten of them!  For wall displays, I recommend 11×14 as the smallest possible size.  I am designing two wall galleries right now to go above our couch and fireplace.  I can’t wait to see it all put together.  I am going BIG – 11×14, 16×20, 20×20 and bigger!  That’s really the only way to do it if you’re going to do it at all.  Some wall display ideas that I share with clients can be seen HERE.

7.  I have some very cool projects in the works that I can’t talk about yet because they’re not finalized but I am super excited!!  Fun and new / different things for me to do.  I can’t wait!!!!

8.  Is anyone else excited about Half-Blood Prince???  WE ARE!!  I already have a date night scheduled with the hubby for next Tuesday night while the kids are at the beach with my inlaws.  We’re making a nice dinner and then heading out to see it.  Here’s hoping there aren’t a ton of people there on a weeknight.  RI’ers (and MA’ers), any suggestions on theaters to go to / avoid?

9.  Did I mention the beach??  That’s right!  Vacation for me starts this Saturday as we head to Naragansett Bonnet Shores for the week.  Although it’s not really vacation because I’ll be coming back on Sunday to do the Block Party and then again on Tuesday for a meeting.  Still.  Beach time!!

10.  I am starting to work on my Holiday 2009 offerings.  Yes.  Already.  In fact, if you are thinking about booking a holiday session, do it NOW.  Seriously.  Don’t book the actual pictures for now, book your October and November sessions now.  Holiday time tends to get crazy and I have a cut off of usually right around December 1 for sessions.  So if you are thinking about photos, contact me, don’t wait!!

That’s it for today 🙂